Sunday, August 28, 2011

This past Friday we said goodbye to our foster dog, Junior. A wonderful couple, Michelle and Jason, fell in love with him and decided to make him a permanent member of their "pack". Unfortunately, Jason had to work so he couldn't meet us at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to finalize Junior’s adoption. We did get a couple of photos and clips of Michelle and Junior before she loaded him up and took him home.

Here we have the honorary changing of the leashes:

And here is the first time Michelle walked Junior after all the paperwork was finalized:

Ihad a chance to catch up with them Saturday morning and Jason said Junior was “beyond expectation.” They were just settling into the new routine and working on some obedience hand signals. Junior even had a chance to get acquainted with the cat a little sooner than expected (thanks to a door being accidentally left open) and everything went well. We know Junior will have a wonderful life with them. Congratulations Jason, Michelle and Junior!

Keep posted as Jason and Michelle have promised me that they will send updates and photos of Junior’s new life.

Special thanks to:

Jennifer Anderson at Animal Coalition of Tampa for pulling some strings to get Junior in for his neuter surgery so quickly. http://www.actampa.org/

Dr. Christy Layton and the entire staff at Timberlane Pet Hospital and Resort for taking such good care of Junior during his stays and continually going the extra mile for homeless animals in the Tampa area. http://www.timberlanevet.com/

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Neighbor Jeff came over the other day to help me get some pictures of the foster dog with his Fancy-Schmancy camera (at least, I think that was the model and make). He got a couple of beautiful shots of Harper, too.

While downloading some photos of Harper onto my computer this morning I found some pictures of us at Temple Square from our recent trip to Utah. I had no idea these were even taken, but I'm glad they were because they are the only known photos of our little family together. If we all look tired please keep in mind that Brad had just been on a 10 hour succession of plane rides to get in and Harper and I both had the world's worst cold.

Here's the photo where we're not at all ready.

Here's the obligatory wacky one.

And here we look like a normal family. Relatively speaking.

Here I am trying to nurse Harper surreptitiously on Temple Square. Note: there were no changing tables in the bathrooms in the Visitor's Center, which I found exceedingly odd.

Anyway, I went to Whole Foods with Harper and my neighbor, Jeff, who just happens to be a very famous and important BMX’er. At least he was in the mid-90’s. Let me also note here that Jeff is less than 4 years younger than me (this will be important later).

So anyway, there we are, the three of us, waiting for a fresh loaf of ciabatta to come out of the oven, when a 60 year old woman comes over and starts talking to Harper. Then she says to me, “You must be the grandmother.” Wait, did she say grandmother? I was sure I had misheard her. Or maybe she was kidding.

Until she asked again.

”No,” I assured her, “she’s mine.” “ How old are you?” she queried. I informed her I was only 39. “Really, only 39?” she replied. By this time Jeff was looking at the ground with his hand over his mouth. She then told me there were lots of 39 year old grandmothers.

I was so shocked that it wasn’t until I reached the checkout line that I realized the full implication of our interaction; she thought that Jeff was Harper’s father and that I was Jeff’s mother. Jeff, of course, was texting the discourse to his housemate before we even left the store.

I am never leaving the house without makeup again. And I’m coloring my hair posthaste.

As you all know by now, Junior, our resident foster, is looking for a permanent home. What’s wrong with him that he hasn’t found one already? Nothing. Well, sort of. The problem is that Junior suffers from several Unadoptable Dog Syndromes.

First, Junior is not a puppy.

Strike 1.

Second, Junior, is not a pure-bred dog.

Strike 2.

He isn’t a miniature breed. Strike 3. He is a black dog (and therefore, invisible). Strike 4. He is male. Strike 5. I could go on and on but the short of it is that Junior’s got more strikes going than the AFL-CIO (that’s union humor, for those of you who don’t get it).

Three cute little dogs, right? Wrong! There are FOUR dogs in this photo! F-O-U-R! You totally missed the black dog on the lower left, didn’t you? See?!?!? You fell into the Invisible Black Dog Trap, too! Everyone just passes black dogs right on by. Poor black dogs.

It doesn’t matter that Junior is a great dog with no behavioral issues to speak of, people pass him by because he doesn’t stand out. And the longer he remains unadopted, the more people will pass him by because they will assume there is something wrong with him because he hasn’t been adopted yet.

But I also know that eventually the perfect family will come along and fall in love with him. It’s just a matter of time.

Check here again Sunday and I’ll post a short video of me walking Junior with my two dogs, Maisy and Willa, all while pushing a stroller! Ta-Da!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

As much as we like him, Junior is ready for a home of his own. But not just any home, a FANTASTIC home. I think I mentioned before that Brad is crazy about that little dog.

When we started to discuss looking for a home for Junior, Brad said, "I think he should go to a great home. Like ours. Maybe even one of our friends." I explained to him that, due to my profession, all of our friends, friends-of-friends, friends-of-friends-of-friends and all of their neighbors and business associates have acquired dogs. We have maxed out our resources.

And so I come to you, general public, and ask that you help get the word out. Junior is a great dog. He just needs a family of his own now.Here is his bio, written from Junior's perspective because I've been told he'll get more interest that way:

Can’t decide between a German Shepherd and a Labrador? Why not bring me home?!? I am a young (DOB 10/22/10)Shepherd/Lab mix and the perfect size; 36 lbs now and I’ll be about 40 lbs as an adult. Everyone tells me I am a happy, friendly boy who will make a FANTASIC dog for some lucky person because I LOVE everybody! In my foster home I live with 2 dogs, 4 cats and a 10 month old baby, too. Since being in foster care I have learned to walk perfectly on leash and that I need to potty outside (I never even had one accident!). Every day I look forward to a long walk with my foster pack, and sometimes I like to go for a jog in the evening. I am a very fast learner and like to stay near my foster family so I can see what they’re doing, even when I’m not on leash (I am a Shepherd, after all). Of course, I have been neutered, am current on vaccines, microchipped, heartworm negative and on heartworm and parasite control. Plus, my foster family will provide my adoptive family with LIFETIME behavior training, so I can remain a happy, balanced dog.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Has it really been a MONTH since I last posted? It hasn't been for a lack of wanting, I swear. It's just been CRAZY around here as of late.

One recent event of note was that we flew to Utah to visit my family (read: I went on the plane alone with Harper while both of us had terrible head colds and Brad followed a couple of days later because he had to work but secretly I think he planned it that way because he did not want to travel with his miserably sick wife and fussy baby) . We stayed with my brother and his family and my parents drove down from Wyoming to meet us.

First flight photo op!Harper and me curbside before rushing to catch the plane.

No one on my side of the family had met Harper before so we had a lot of fun spending time with the cousins and catching up. Mayhem, of course, ensued... and we were lucky enough to get some of it on video! My favorite clips include Brad's morning workouts with the kids:

... and Maggie Jane wearing high heels for the first time (she walks better in them than I do!):

Of course, there was Harriett's "Daddy and Henri" song, which is a chart topper:

I was remiss in my duties as I neglected to get footage of both Harriett's pajama fashion show and Hazel's zombie impression. Maybe next year.

Anyway, when we got back home Harper was EXHAUSTED for days:

We were eventually able to get her back on schedule and now she's back to her normal self, growling and all:

Thank you again, Bess and Micah, for your incredible hospitality! We look forward to doing it again, at our house, next time!